Nets force Game 7 with 95-92 victory

Bulls hang tough, but eventually illness and injuries too much to overcome

May 02, 2013|By K.C. Johnson, Chicago Tribune reporter

This Bulls season has been a wacky one, filled with breathless updates of an inactive Derrick Rose that haven't really updated the situation; game-winning shots and groan-inducing turnovers; and the non-stop energy that is Nate Robinson.

Given all that, it seems only fitting that it now will feature a make-or-break Game 7 in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The Nets forced that scenario with a 95-92 victory Thursday night at the United Center, secured only when Andray Blatche sank two free throws with 19.2 seconds left and Marco Belinelli missed a contested 3-pointer with 7.9 seconds remaining.

Joakim Noah chased down the long rebound but stepped on the sideline for the Bulls' 16th turnover. Noah atoned for this by tying up Deron Williams for a jump ball with 3.6 seconds remaining, which Noah won. But Joe Johnson sneaked in to secure possession and dribble out the clock.

"I'm ready to play. I want to go play right now. That's my emotions," a fired-up Noah said afterward. "We're a team of fighters. We keep getting punched in the face but we fight back. I'm proud of this team. We're going to go into a hostile environment in Brooklyn and we're going to win."

The Nets took advantage of a depleted Bulls roster that had Rose and Kirk Hinrich in street clothes, Robinson throwing up on the bench, Taj Gibson also playing through illness until he fouled out and Luol Deng at home with a severe viral infection.

United Center ball boys should file for battle pay.

Deron Williams' 17 points and 11 assists led the Nets, who won an elimination game to force a Game 7 for the first time in franchise history.

Belinelli's 22 points and career-high-tying seven assists led all five starters in double figures for the Bulls.

"They played good defense on me, especially Gerald Wallace," Belinelli said of his final miss. "But I could have made that shot. I'm not scared. I'm going to take that shot every time."

The loss of Deng and Hinrich made it an offensive game for the first half with the Nets reaching 60 points by the break. That's a pace and a style at which the Nets are superior to the Bulls.

But the pace slowed considerably in the second half, when the Bulls lost Gibson and Carlos Boozer to foul trouble on top of everything else.

"They had a big first quarter," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We're concerned about that. To win in the playoffs, you have to play 48 minutes. I thought the defense improved. But there are things we have to clean up."

In the second quarter, the roster attrition forced one stretch where Richard Hamilton, Marquis Teague, Nazr Mohammed, Jimmy Butler (17 points, seven rebounds, six assists in 48 minutes) and Gibson took the floor together.

"We've been short-handed most of the year," Thibodeau said. "Guys have been called upon all year to get the job done. I feel we're more than capable. I thought this game was very winnable. We need to play one great game. And I believe we will."

Noah, who practically was foaming at the mouth after tallying 14 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in 43 minutes, went further.

"It's going to take all of us sticking together through all kinds of adversity," Noah said. "This has been a real hard year. But I'm really proud of this team. We're ready to kick some ass."